Constipation from pain meds

[Sharon Y]

I have been on T3's & Emtec for over 20 years for Chronic pain from being hit by a pick up truck while walking. As I am aging, pain is worsening. Diagnosed with Crohn's December, 2014. GI told me I've prolly had it for years. Am on Prednisone now. Down to 2 5mg/day so only 2 more weeks.
Family Dr. changed from t3's and emtec to 1mg Dilauded as a prn up to 4 a day. I usually have 2 maybe 3. I've never been so constipated in my life! I'm taking stool softeners at every med pass and metimucil and a laxative before bed every night but still not getting full relief.
Thoughts please, and thanks!

 

[Jennifer]

My husband takes a lot of pain medication for his CRPS. His constipation was also getting worse as his dose was increased. His doctor prescribed him a different stool softener (Colace 100mg every 12 hours) and that's been helping a lot. He also drinks apple juice now and uses fiber if needed. You can get flavorless fiver powder and put it in your drinks and your food as well. Prune juice is also helpful and eating apples if you're able.

 

[Nym]

A tin of peaches always works on me.

You could try some bone broth - it helps regulate the system by adding lube.

 

[SmellyMelly]

This is what works for me:

You could try adding chia seeds to water or juice and making a gel.

Add 1 tablespoon of dry seeds in 100mls of water or juice. Stir and thoroughly mix together. Wait for 10 minutes and stir again. It will then resemble a mucilage gelatinous mix of gel soft seeds.

This bulks up inside and helps to soften the stool, it then will slide and gently push the bowel movement out.

It also works well for diarrhea by absorbing loose watery stools and producing a proper well formed stool for passing.

Chia seed gel is an excellent food supplement because it is loaded with nutrients like calcium, boran, niacin, magnesium, zinc and iron. They also contain protein. Plus they contain mucin; which reduces inflammation within the digestive tract.

Constipation can be a side effect of some medication. But it can also be caused by simple dehydration.

How much pure plain water are you drinking a day?

Last time I had constipation, I simply drank about 2 - 3 litres of water throughout the day for three consecutive days, and it certainly got things moving.

Go very careful with pharmaceutical laxatives as they can be dangerous. You can easily and quickly become dependent on them. They can produce a "lazy bowel".

Found this online that explains it better than I can:

"Stimulant laxatives often times use toxic and harsh herbs and chemicals in their formulae. Stimulant laxatives work by causing intestinal muscles to spasm and contract. People are drawn to these because they usually take effect in hours as opposed to days. With these laxatives you run into the same danger as osmotic laxatives. The gas-related pain and dehydration are possible. Another danger is that they are very highly addictive and overuse and cause long-term damage to your intestinal lining. After using these laxatives for a while your intestines will grow dependent upon them and will require them to have any bowel movement. The condition is called "Lazy Bowel Syndrome", and it is basically having loss of bowel muscle tone and strength. As a result of this condition you can expect to have chronic constipation".

http://www.globalhealingcenter.com/health-hazards-to-know-about/stimulant-laxatives

 

[UnXmas]

What laxative are you taking and at what dose?

And is the problem that you are going a very long time (several days or more) without having a bowel movement, or that it is very hard/painful to have a bowel movement and requires a lot of straining? (Or both of these?)

There are a lot of treatments for constipation, but finding the right one and the right dose can be difficult. Working out the type of constipation you have can make it easier to find treatments that help. Osmotic laxatives like lactulose may be a good idea if you've not already tried them as they can be taken long-term. Stool softeners primarily help if you have hard bowel movements that are painful to pass.

Edit: I thought I should add that with any laxative, always start at a low dose to see how you react; even if you're extremely constipated, some laxatives may have a stronger effect than you need.

 

[SmellyMelly]

How much pure plain water are you drinking a day?

And I do mean just plain simple pure water.

Definitely not fizzy sodas, flavoured squashes, tea, coffee and other similar sorts of drinks with water in them - they can dehydrate the bowel further.

There is a special maths formulation available which I cannot remember at present - where you can work out how much water you should be drinking a day; based on your weight.

I weight 75 kilos and should be drinking around 2.5 liters of water per day every day (more if exercising or hot weather).

Another thing that works for me is walking.

After drinking the water or eating some fiber - go for a walk - the brisker the better.

A 20 - 30 minute walk can help stimulate your digestive tract. Worked wonders for me. Maybe too wonderfully.......last time I had a bowel movement in the street before I got home - luckily I had an incontinence pad on just-in-case.

 

[SmellyMelly]

There is a special maths formulation available - where you can work out how much water you should be drinking a day; based on your weight.

I weight 75 kilos (165 pounds / 11 stone)

So I multiply 75 X 0.03

= 2.25

So I need to drink at least 2 litres (+ another 250mls cup) of water each day - every day.

Pure filtered water - not plastic bottled and not straight from the tap.